Experimental Future Vineyard

"Trying to get a good handle on how much carbon a grapevine is investing below ground both annually and long-term," says Damien Marting, Plant & Food Research (PFR) Science Group Leader Viticulture and Oenology. "The next question is, 'if we are measuring a certain amount of carbon being sequestered, how can we change that?'"

Plans for the Experimental Future Vineyard was announced by Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern in late Septtember when she opened the New Zealand Wine Centre - Te Pokapū Wāina o Aotearoa, on the Budge St campus of Nelson Marlborough Institute of Technology (NMIT), alongside PFR and Bragato Research Institute (BRI).

The vineyard – to be developed on the campus over the next 12 months – will include a 600m2 shelter in which the likes of soil type, temperature and water availability can be controlled, enabling research that supports the productivity and quality aspirations of the wine industry, and prepares for future challenges.

PFR Scientist Julian Theobald says the facility will allow for the development of new research programmes that might not be applicable immediately, “but very much look to the future, helping the wine sector navigate potential production risks, protect the environment and mitigate the impact of climate change”.

Damian says the carbon project will look at the vineyard system as a whole, considering how the vine might respond in various soil contexts, and perhaps with different rootstocks, while taking into consideration the whole soil biome. The carbon accounting will measure carbon fixed over time, as well as the level of soil respiration.

The vineyard facility will be temperature-controlled above the ground, and some of the large pots used to grow vines will be jacketed like a winery tank, enabling manipulation of soil temperatures for research, such as assessing how carbon flux will be affected by climate change, he says. “We’re setting up a research platform to enable experts from around the country and around the world to come and work with us."

While some work has been done on soil carbon sequestration in pastoral situations, very little has been done in perennial horticulture crops, Damian says. It’s research that will ultimately look to guide growers on opportunities to grow the carbon sequestration beneath their vines, using the likes of canopy configuration or other viticultural opportunities. “Ultimately it is about adapting the management for a different future.”

The vineyard is being established through an agreement between PFR, NMIT and the Marlborough Research Centre (MRC) and is projected to cost $3.3 million, including $770,000 reallocated from the Government’s earlier Provincial Growth Fund loan to the MRC.

The opening of the Wine Centre. Photo Richard Briggs.

PFR will operate the facility and develop research programmes in collaboration with MRC, national and local government, and the New Zealand wine industry, as well as providing student opportunities through NMIT.

Industry and researchers know climate change will add to challenges facing wine production in New Zealand, with warmer days and more pest and disease pressure, Damian says. “We also know that consumer expectations will continue to evolve, with increased focus on sustainability credentials. Being able to understand how best to grow excellent grapes that allow winemakers to meet their environmental, financial and societal requirements will ensure our wine sector can continue to grow.”

Te Pokapu Waina o Aotearoa

The New Zealand Wine Centre - Te Pokapū Wāina o Aotearoa provides offices, meeting rooms and co-shared space for wine growers and companies to meet and work with wine researchers from around New Zealand and across the world. The project has been driven by the Marlborough Research Centre (MRC) with key partners Nelson Marlborough Institute of Technology (NMIT)/ Te Pukenga, the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment via Kānoa, Plant & Food Research (PFR), Wine Marlborough, Marlborough District Council and New Zealand Winegrowers through Bragato Research Institute (BRI) and Sustainable Winegrowing New Zealand.

The centre sits on NMIT Marlborough’s Budge St campus alongside the viticulture teaching and research facilities of NMIT, Plant & Food Research and BRI. Te Pokapū Wāina o Aotearoa was built at a cost of $6 million, with $3m contributed from MRC, matched with funding from Kanoa’s Provincial Growth Fund.

MRC Chair Bernie Rowe told attendees at the Wine Centre’s opening that once the Experimental Research Vineyard was built alongside the centre and BRI, a total of $20m will have been invested. “With the completion of the New Zealand Wine Centre we have created an integrated hub that will be more than capable of taking the wine industry into the future – and accelerating new opportunities for New Zealand.”